stone veneers Archives - Native Custom Stone

Properly Cleaning Manufactured Stone Veneer

We want to make sure that you keep your custom stone looking great for years. Part of this is making sure that it’s well maintained and clean. As you know, manufactured stone veneer is different than a natural stone, and needs to be cared for differently. A good cleaning every two-three months should keep your manufactured stone looking new.

Keep in mind when installing your stone not to leave mortar on any surface. Mortar should be brushed away as the stone or brick is installed. If the surface is properly protected during the application, cleanup will be much easier. After the mortar sets for 24 hours, wash the job with a water hose to eliminate excess dust. Once the Stone or brick veneer has dried, apply a sealer for maximum protection.

5 Steps to Properly Cleaning Manufactured Stone Veneer:

Thoroughly mix approximately one cup of Laundry detergent into 3 gallons of hot water. Never use detergents with bleach, any type of acid, or a pressure washer.
Rinse the stone/brick with water to remove loose debris.
Using a circular motion scrub the dirtiest areas first using a medium bristle brush.
Rinse the cleaned area thoroughly, removing all detergent and suds.
Let dry, if you still see dirt and debris, repeat the cleaning process. Once completely dry and clean, seal.

Remember you don’t need to clean your manufactured stone often, if there is a little mud or muck just rinse with a hose or water. Or, if you have accent stone veneer inside your home, just wipe it down with a damp cloth.

They do make special detergents for manufactured stone if you wanted to keep it on the safe side, but a mild dish detergent or even laundry detergent will do. If you don’t have manufactured stone in your home yet, but have been thinking about it, Native Custom Stone has a wonderful selection of manufactured stone veneers to choose from. They also have distributors all over Georgia, and you can buy online from Build Direct or Home Depot!

5 Steps for Creating a Custom Stone Veneer Accent Wall

Manufactured Stone has always been a popular building material because it gives a home a natural look and is more cost effective than natural stone. If you have the budget it is always best to let a professional construct your veneer for you but if you are comfortable working with your hands, it is possible to just do it yourself as well.

Before you get started you will need to gather up a few tools and materials like a trowel, mortar mix, metal lathe, 2 inch galvanized nails, plastic moisture barrier, stone veneer, hand rake, wire brush, a hammer and sand.

Once you have everything gathered up you are ready to start with step one:

Secure a plastic moisture barrier over the surface of the wall that will be your veneer. It is best to use painters tape in case you need to make adjustments or move the barrier. Next you will need to use the galvanized nails to secure the metal lathe to the moisture barrier. Try to keep the nails 6 inches apart and try to hit the wall studs as much as possible.
Read the mortar package then mix the sand and mortar accordingly. This will create a cement mixture that you will begin applying to the lathe. Use the trowel to spread a thin layer of the mixture over all of the exposed lathe.
While the cement mixture is still wet you need to use the hand rake to either make scratches in the cement or just rake it. This will help your stone to adhere to the surface more securely. After you have finished you need to let it set undisturbed for forty eight hours.
Take one of your stone veneer pieces and apply a layer of mortar across the back about a half inch thick. Then press it into place on the wall near the top. Press firmly enough that some of the mortar squeezes out from beneath it. Keep placing pieces until you reach the bottom and try to keep the pieces as tightly spaced as possible. It will reduce the amount of mortaring you will have to do later. Let everything dry for about an hour or two.
Go back across the surface and press mortar into any cracks that you see between the pieces. Use a wire brush to clean the excess cement of off the stone pieces.

Back-Splash: Update Your Kitchen with Manufactured Stone Veneer

Manufactured stone veneer is an excellent way to renovate any part of your home. We have already talked about how you can make a fireplace more beautiful with the use of custom stone veneer, and today we are going to talk about the steps for installing a great back-splash to update your kitchen.

Back-splashes are great for a few different areas in your kitchen such as behind the sink, stove, or counter space. Here are the materials that you will need for your project:

Chalk line
Level
Trowel
Mortar

Step 1: Find a great manufactured stone veneer for your project. Once you have all of your materials. Follow your mortar manufacturer’s instructions for mixing the proper mortar-to-water ratio. Spread the mortar compound on the space that you will be installing your back-splash.

Step 2: Use your level and chalk line to ensure that you’re working in an even line. Be sure to check your work with the level periodically.

Step 3: Start installing your manufactured stone veneer in the design that you want. Make sure that your stone is sufficiently placed in the mortar, but doesn’t slide. Also, make sure to clean off mortar on the stone as you go. If mortar is seeping out from your stones in excess you might want to start again and use less on your initial application.

Step 4: Once all of your stones are in place, use a piping bag to fill in gaps between your manufactured stones. Clean up excess mortar with a small grout trowel.

Step 5: Clean up any mortar on your stones and allow them to dry, this should take no less than 24 hours. However it’s wise to follow your manufacturer’s instructions on dry time. Clean up your stones once they are dry, and with a back-splash behind a stove or sink it is recommended that you seal your project to prevent staining and moisture damamge.

There you have it, a great kitchen back-splash. Make sure you use a quality manufactured stone veneer to ensure that your new kitchen will stand the test of time.

The Importance of Sealing your Manufactured Stone Veneer

Manufactured stone veneer from Native Custom Stone is a great alternative to natural stone. It cost tons less than natural stone, and is much easier to install. To keep your manufactured stone veneer looking great and lasting you do need to know the importance of sealing your manufactured stone after it’s installed.

Sealing your Manufactured Stone, or Custom Stone, prevents from:

Cracking or Chipping of the Stone and Mortar
Swelling and Breaking
Mortar from absorbing water
Color fastness in the Stone

If you are installing Manufactured Stone Veneer on the exterior of your home sealing it is crucial to prevent against weathering. If you don’t seal your Custom Stone Veneer you risk it becoming saturated and could break, crack, or lose color. Also, sealing your stone will help protect the Stone Veneer from mud and dirt stains.

However, if your custom stone is on the interior of your home it’s not mandatory, but it is recommended.

If you have a Custom Stone Fireplace you will want to make sure to prevent it from soot stains.
In bathrooms it’s important because of the excessive moisture in the air.
In Kitchens it really is a preference. If you install a counter top you are going to want to seal your stone to prevent against stains. However, if you have Custom Panels accenting areas in your kitchen you may want to protect them from accidents but, it’s not necessary.

The benefits of Manufactured Stone Veneer are abundant and you can use it all over your home. This type of stone is great for do-it-yourself projects or large contracting jobs. It’s light-weight and costs much less than Natural Stone, though it looks natural and beautiful in any setting. Native Custom Stone offers a large selection of Manufactured Stone Veneer. Have a look at their gallery and visit a distributor near you.

Top 5 Places to use Manufactured Stone Veneer in your Home

Your local faux stone supplier talks about these Top 5 most popular places to install Faux Stone in your home. Manufactured stone veneer is a material that’s becoming more used recently. Faux stone veneer can be added to almost any room, including its many outdoor uses. If you haven’t thought about manufactured stone veneer or you wanted to add more to your home take a look at this list below. You might think up another great home renovation idea!

The Top 5 Rooms and Spaces to use Manufactured Stone:

1.) Finishing an above around basement. You can add manufactured stone directly to concrete to cover up what’s peeking out from under your home. It looks great and adds value to your house.

2.) Manufactured Stone Panels can be used as siding to your home, window seals, or door frames. A classic, it will look as if you home is made entirely of stone. Not to mention that this type can be a do-it-yourself project! It has gorgeous results!

3.) Bathroom and Kitchen counters and cabinets are another wonderful idea! It will give your home a timeless elegance and great functionality.

4.) Fireplaces look wonderful accented in manufactured stone veneer.

5.) Outdoors you can use manufactured stone veneer to accent gazebos, archways, and pool side areas. It looks great and has relatively low maintenance.neer. As if the fire wasn’t warm enough the stone makes the room much more inviting and cozy.

So, as you can see there are so many uses for manufactured stone veneer in your home. Hopefully this opened you up to all of the potential your home has. Most manufactured stone veneer has the capability to be a do-it-yourself project. There are so many styles to choose from. Native Custom Stone has dozens of styles and designs to make sure you find the perfect fit for your home. Please, don’t hesitate, give them a call today!

The Beauty of River Rock Stone Veneer

It’s getting to be the time of year when things start to cool off, plants and trees go into hibernation, and the weather can be downright cold and uninviting, leaving your patio to snow and rain and fallen leaves. This, however, does not have to be the case, and one great new product to use is river rock stone veneer. There are many ways you can dress up your patio for the winter months and holidays so that you can continue to enjoy the space throughout the year.

As previously mentioned, river rock stone veneer is a wonderful product. Designed to withstand just about any temperature and condition. Given the durable quality and low maintenance of this product, it’s hard not to incorporate it into the design and landscape of your home. A great place is out on the patio with an outdoor fireplace! River rock stone veneer or any style of stone veneer can furnish you with a authentic looking and fully functional fireplace to keep you warm while entertaining guests. If there isn’t room on your patio for fireplace, you’re not at a loss. There are also fire pots, which take up less space and are easier to move, fire rings and even fire tables! These options all provide appealing warmth and aesthetic beauty, allowing you to get outside without being cold.

Any of these options can also be outfitted with a river rock stone veneer base or enclosure to add extra style and creativity to your patio-warming option. You can either make the piece a focal point of the patio and natural gathering area, or have it off to the side as an accent piece for your greater entertaining area. Whatever you choose, you won’t be disappointed with the quality and life-span of river rock stone veneer. For more information on how to make stone veneer a beautiful part of your patio and home, give Native Custom stone a call today!

Get Creative with Manufactured Stone Veneer

With manufactured stone veneer the possibilities seem endless, and in many ways they are. There are so many different styles, colors, designs, and uses that manufactured stone veneer has that they can basically fit into whatever need and desire you have, providing the natural beauty inside and outside your home to enjoy for years to come.

There are many ways that simply stacking or arranging manufactured stone veneer, or where you decide to install manufactured stone veneer, that can greatly alter the look of the product as well as its surroundings. This means that installing manufactured stone veneer is often the most difficult and time consuming process. Not only is there is a bit of prep work involved, for those who enjoy do it yourself projects, but careful placement and deliberation is needed when it comes time to actually install manufactured stone veneer – to get the right look, as well as ensure that it will last for as long as possible. After installation there is also finishing that needs to be carried out. Again, this ensures that everything is as it should be with manufactured stone veneer. For those who aren’t as handy, call in a contractor to do the work for you and leave the work to them. Once your project is successfully completed you will have beautiful, natural-looking, durable and creative enhancements to enjoy for many, many years.

The best advice anyone can give you about manufactured stone veneer however is to get creative and think outside the box. Manufactured stone veneer is very versatile and with the wide range of options, you can make your dreams come true, whether it’s enhancing the fireplace or creating a breathtaking accent wall. For more information on how to incorporate manufactured stone veneer into your home, give Native Custom Stone a call today! With fast and friendly service, they will be able to assist you in all your project needs.

3 Pros and Cons of Manufactured Stone Veneer Products

Manufactured stone veneer products is a great alternative to natural stone because it is lighter and cheaper, but still designed to look exactly like natural stone. However, as with anything there are pros and cons to discuss when considering manufactured stone veneer products.

Pros:

1) Variety and Design: stone veneer products are, at their most basic, cement. It is the design, color and molding that the cement goes through that makes it look like natural stone — so much so that only a true expert would be able to tell the difference. There are a number of processes that produce a variety of designs and colors to suit any style or preference people are looking for, giving you more to work with when using this type of material.

2) Being lightweight, manufactured stone veneer products are easier to work with and given you more options as to where and how you want to install manufactured stone veneer products. This means that this material can be used with masonry, wood frame or metal structures. They don’t need foundation support either.

3) Durability: As long as your manufactured stone veneer products are used, installed and maintained correctly, you can rely on them to last a very long time.

Cons:

1) Improper installation of this type of veneer can result in severe damage, often immediately after installation, therefore it is very important that you hire a professional to do the work for you. Otherwise the result will be severe water damage.

2) Exposure to certain elements will reduce the aesthetic appearance of stone veneer. Such things as harsh chemicals, paint thinners, de-icing salts, and cleaning solvents can scar and stain the surface or result in discoloration. In general though, manufactured stone veneer products are hardy.

3) Manufactured stone veneer products may not be the best to use in swimming pools, as chlorine can cause discoloration.

Again, to avoid water damage, which will result in tearing up manufactured stone veneer as well as any other affected materials that are used in the structure of your house, all the way down to the foundation, it is important to have a professional install stone veneer products to ensure that you get the most out of this wonderful product. If you’re interested in learning more about manufactured stone veneer products, give Native Custom Stone a call today!

Stone Veneer Panels Can Be A Weekend Project

You have started projects that promised to be weekend projects and found yourself with weeks of work to finish. One of the products that really can go up in a weekend of work is DIY stone veneer paneling. In short, it provides a solution to getting your walls covered with truly beautiful faux stone panels without the cost or the labor involved in the process that you normally would have when creating stone walls.

Here’s why stone veneer panels work as a great DIY project:

It does not require a great deal of time or physical labor to install – quite unlike installing traditional stone onto walls.
It is far more affordable than using traditional stone, often costing a fraction of the cost you would pay otherwise.
It is easy to install. You do not need to piece together stones and hope they fit. This product comes to you in a beautiful, easy to put up panel.
You can use it anywhere. The stone veneer paneling you want can often be used both indoors and outdoors, in any room of the house, even.
It has a long lifespan. It does not fade. It will not crack on you. It does not split and the sun will not damage it. It is even impact proof. This means it gives you years of beautiful looks without hassles.
It is lightweight. It does not require a great deal of support to be put on the wall safely.

For all of these reasons, individuals should consider the benefit of using stone veneer paneling throughout their home. It can hide any unsightly wall and add significant value to your home with just a weekend’s worth of work – really just a weekend to get it up and looking great is all it takes. For many homeowners, that is the perfect combination.

For more information on faux stone CustomFit panels available from Native Custom Stone please contact us directly!

Weather Proofing Stone Veneer | Atlanta Stone Veneer

Stone veneeris a good product that can provide years of beautiful service to you. However, to ensure this happens, you must know how to water and weather proof stone veneer. Atlanta stone veneer professionals are the best to turn to for this particular need. You should know what to look for, though.

Stone veneer on a new home.

Installation Is Key

In order to weather proof effectively, ensure you have the installation properly completed. This means adhering to all safety regulations. Otherwise, the OSB will rot and the stone will buckle no matter how much you keep the rain off it. A weather resistive barrier, known as a WRB, is a good way to keep water from getting to the OSB.

Doubling Up

Another tip to ensure the weather proofing is the best it can be requires applying two layers of WRB is often best. In fact, if you were to apply stucco to your home, you may know that many areas have codes that require two layers of weather resistive barrier behind it. The same should apply to stone veneer. This will help reduce the risk of drainage problems, too.

Rain Screen Method

Another way to create this water and weatherproofing is something to talk to Atlanta stone veneer installers about. It is called the rain screen method. Here, the method will reduce the water instruction by using a small amount of airspace between the WRB and the stone veneer. This creates the ideal drainage space and keeps water and rain off the actual OSB, increasing its lifespan.
Whenever water damage occurs, replacing the system may become necessary. In the meantime, install one of these methods to improve water protection, especially in Atlanta where the heat and humidity can lead to potential problems quite quickly if you do not have a proper system in place to prevent it.